CBFC tells Bombay High Court it will decide on clearance to Yogi Adityanath movie in 2 working days

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on Thursday told the Bombay High Court that it will decide on grant of censor certificate to the movie 'Ajey: The Untold Story of a Yogi' within two working days [Samrat Cinematics India Pvt. Ltd v CBFC and Ors].

The movie, inspired by the book 'The Monk Who Became Chief Minister', is purportedly based on UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s life and is scheduled for theatrical release on August 1.

The producers of the movie approached the Court citing delay on the part of CBFC in clearing the film for release.

The counsel for CBFC today told a Bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale that the application by the producers for clearance will be decided within two days.

"I have written instructions that we will consider the application within two working days and communicate the same on same day or next day," he told.

The Court recorded the submission and disposed of the plea.

"Petitioner essentially seeks direction from CBFC to decide certification within a period not exceeding five days.. A letter sent to applicant intimating the same is taken on record. In view of the statement (by CBFC) that the process will be completed and the application will be decided, nothing survives in the petition. The decision taken by the CBFC to be intimated on the same day. Petition disposed of," the Court said.

The petitioner, Samrat Cinematics India Pvt. Ltd., moved the Court alleging arbitrary and unexplained delay by the CBFC in processing certification applications for the film, its teaser, trailer, and promotional song, despite the film being scheduled for nationwide release on August 1.

The petitioner further raised objection to the CBFC’s alleged insistence on a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister’s Office, which, according to the petition, has no basis in the Cinematograph Act of 1952 or the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules of 2024.

The petition stated that the filmmakers first applied for certification of the main film on June 5, 2025.

As per Rule 37 of the Certification Rules, the CBFC is required to scrutinize applications within 7 days and refer the film for screening within 15 days. Despite this, no action was taken for nearly a month.

On July 3, the petitioners reapplied under the ‘priority scheme’ and paid three times the standard fee as per Rule 33(2), following advice from CBFC officials. A screening was scheduled for July 7, but was abruptly cancelled the day before, without any further communication.

When the petitioners checked the status of their application on July 12, it was marked as “Incomplete” with a vague instruction to “Provide Documentary Evidence” without specifying what documents were missing.

The petition alleged that such conduct by CBFC was causing significant commercial and reputational harm.

The petition also highlighted that the film draws from 'The Monk Who Became Chief Minister' by Shantanu Gupta, a book published in 2017, which is available in twelve languages and has a wide readership.

It was submitted that the book had received official endorsement from the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister’s Office, and formed the basis for a respectful, fact-based portrayal of a public figure’s leadership journey.

The petitioners argued that CBFC’s actions violate their fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19(1)(a), 19(1)(g), and 21 of the Constitution of India.

Senior Advocate Ravi Kadam, with advocates Satatya Anand, Nikhil Aradhe, Aakash Sinha, Arjun Aggarwal, and Vrinda Bagaria, appeared for Samrat Cinematics India Pvt. Ltd

Senior Advocate Abhay Khandeparkar and advocates Pavan Patil and Krishnakant Deshmukh appeared for CBFC And Union of India.